What is a pressure area?
A pressure area is defined as damage caused by unrelieved pressure when soft tissue is compressed between a bony prominence and an external surface for a prolonged time. Tissue damage may involve skin, fat, deep fascia, and other tissues such as muscle, bone and tendons.
There are many terms used to describe pressure areas:
- pressure ulcers
- pressure sores
- decubitus ulcers
- bed sores
- pressure necrosis
- ischaemic ulcers.

If you are interested, you can read more about the Anatomy of the skin.
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